There is a significant market in medicine autoinjectors. Such devices are often used to inject a medicine like epinephrine to treat allergic reactions from bee stings or other anaphylactic episodes.
Other medications are or may be needed on a quick basis. Autoinjectors may serve useful for quick access and administration of other medicines. Alternative medicines include medicines now available, such as some analgesics. It may further include medicines which may be available or found hereafter to be suitable for administration using autoinjectors. Such alternative medicines might include antidotes to various poisons. Such antidotes may be used to counter the effects of poison gas attack, such as may be used in military operations. Other possible uses which may be now known or hereafter developed, might include antidotes for snake bites, other poisonous animals, and poisonous plants. Exposure to poison gases or biological agents in wartime or other situations may in particular be best treated when there is immediate injection of a suitable injectable medicine.
Other medications may also be suitable for administration in autoinjectors, such as pain relievers, vaccines needed on a quicker basis than usually provided via medical services facilities, and other medicines provided on an unexpected basis or those only useful for a short period of time. Autoinjectors may also be desired for other reasons, such as: remoteness, travel, convenience at sea where motion may make more traditional injections more difficult, and many other reasons. Use of autoinjectors may be desired with many medications which are injectable.
Some problems which have been associated with autoinjectors is that the number of doses of medicine being injected may not be the same for different people, different sizes of people (children versus adults who typically require different dosing), and the circumstances giving rise to the need for medicine injection may require different dosing levels. Prior efforts to effect dose control have not been altogether successful in meeting all the various situations and people for which medicine injection is needed.
Another longstanding problem arises from the need in the use of some drugs for an immediately available second dose or further multiple doses if the first dose has been unsuccessful in treating the medical emergency. Heretofore a user requiring immediately available second or subsequent automatically injected doses of medication was forced to carry two or more autoinjectors. This has lead to unnecessary expense and inconvenience due to the bulk of carrying multiple injectors. Further the potential for inadvertently leaving one or more of the necessary injectors at home or elsewhere leads to potential critical risk.
In the use of epinephrine for anaphylaxis for example, studies have shown that approximately one third of patients requiring epinephrine will need a second dose within a few minutes, while other studies have shown that only approximately sixteen percent in fact carry the necessary second autoinjector. Therefore an autoinjector that is capable of delivering multiple automatic injections would meet a critical need which has not been successfully met in prior devices.
A further longstanding problem which arises in almost all injection of medicines is that many people find the process unpleasant. This may be further aggravated by obvious visual sighting of the syringe to the patient. This may also be a problem for another user which is merely an administrator. The administration of an injection to a recipient or patient may be unpleasant or uncomfortable both for the patient to perform self-administration, and for performance by an available other administrative person. This may be a problem leading to delay in the administration of an injection. Thus, it is desirable to minimize these negative reactions, since many people are strongly affected by them and just about all people desire avoiding them except due to acceptance as a needed medical treatment.
The inventor has determined that, it is desirable to have medicine injectors which may controllably administer one or more doses and minimize visual exposure of the injection needle. It is also desirable to have an autoinjector which may provide multiple automatically injected doses, and which can do such in a manner which minimizes adverse effects associated with visual sighting of the needle, particularly during the time period immediately before the injection or injections occur. This may apply to situations as indicated above or in other circumstances.
It is more generally desirable to reduce or minimize negative reactions associated with injections and to reduce sighting of injection needles. Reducing negative effects is particularly desirable immediately before an injection is administered.
Due to the nature of certain medicines and sensitivity of some individuals, it is also desirable to provide penetration depth control for the injection needle. This may also be desired for proper administration at the appropriate depth in the tissue or person, or for other reasons.
Some or all of the problems explained above and other problems may be helped or solved by one or more embodiments of the inventions shown and described herein. Such inventions may also be used to address other problems not set out above or which are only understood or appreciated at a later time. The future may also bring to light currently unknown or unrecognized benefits which may be appreciated or more fully appreciated in association with the inventions shown and described herein. The desires and expected benefits explained herein are not admissions that others have recognized such prior to the inventions described herein.